Switch-controlling mechanism.



J. A. BRADLEY.

SWITCH CONTROLLING MBGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 1111111.24, 1913.

Patented July 8, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. A. BRADLEY. SWITCH GONTROLLING MBGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1013.

1,066,989.- Patented July 8,1913.

JACOB A. BRADLEY, OF WABENO, WISCONSIN.

SWITCH-CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8,1913.

Application led March 24, 1913. Serial No. 756,497.

To al wlw/m, i may concern:

Be it known that l, Jacon A. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Vabeno, in the county of Forest and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch- Controlling Mechanism; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple, economical and effective machine for controlling a railway switch from a car or the cab of a locomotive in motion.

The construction and arrangement is such lthat by a manual operation a tappet carried by the car is shifted into and out of engaging position with a star-wheel, whereby motion is imparted to the latter, which motion is transmitted to a cam-controlled switchlever in alternate impulses to throw said switch from open to closed position or vice versa, the power for actuating the starwheel being imparted thereto by travel of the car or other vehicle to which the tappet is applied.

lith the above objects in View the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts as hereinafter set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings Figure l represents a plan View of a railway system provided with switch-actuating mechanism embodying the features of my invention, certain of the parts being broken away and other parts in section to more clearly illustrate details of construction; Fig. 2, a sectional elevation of the saine, the section being indicated by line QQ of Fig. l; liig. 3, an enlarged detailed cross-section, the section being taken through the end of the switch member as indicated by line 3 3 of Fig. l; Fig. d, an enlarged detailed cross-section through the star-wheel mechanism and adjacent parts, the section being' indicated by line l-ft of Fig. l, and Fig. 5, a face view of the star-wheel with parts in section as indicated by line m of Fig. et, other parts being broken away to more clearly show dctails of construction.

Referring by characters to the drawings A and A represent rails of a main track provided with a pivoted switch member B whereby the rolling stock is shifted from the main to a siding track C in the ordinary manner, it being understood that the car l) to be shifted, is traveling in a direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 `Extending forwardly from the point of the switch 13 and parallel to the rail A is a box l, which box is depressed in the road-bed, being provided with a detachable cover-plate 2. rlhe cover-plate is flush with the plane of the road-bed and has one edge in abutting eni gagen'lent with the side face of the adjacent rail as shown, by which arrangement said cover-plate can readily be removed for access to switch mechanism incased within the box. Both ends of the box extend under the rail A, the side-walls of the approach extension being provided with bearings for a transversely disposed spindle 3, which spindle carries a rotor in the form of a starwheel t having spur-teeth 5, one of the same at all times being arranged to project through a slot in a cover-section 2 and above the road-bed surface, adjacent to the side face of the rail tread.

In order to protect the exposed tooth of the spurwheel the cover-section 2 is preferably crowned, as shown, whereby inadvertent engagement of the exposed tooth is avoided, due to possible engagement of a vehicle or the like with said tooth. The teeth 5 'are preferably radially adjustable in sockets formed in the body of the spurwheel, whereby they may be raised incidental to wear, in order that the projecting tooth may properly j )erform its function, the said teeth heilig held in adjusted position by set-screws 5 as shown.

Mounted upon the spindle I'l, outside of the rail-tread is a ilutcd cam-wheel (l, the annular track of which, as shown, preferably in the form of a groove (5 having high and low points opposite an imaginary central line, which points are equal to the number of teeth in the spur-wheel, the minimum number being four or, as shown, a multiple thereof. The fluted cam-wheel is provided for actuating a switelrlever 7 having a spanner-end that carries anti-friction rollers 7, which rollers engage the canrgrooves, the lever being incased within the box and fulcrmned upon a post that extends from its bottom. The opposite or rear end of the lever is connected to the point of the switch member l5 by a link 9 that engages a pin which projects from the s\\'itcl1-point stituting part of the equipment of a railwayv train.

ln the accompanying illustration 4the plunger apparatus is shown 1 in connection with a surface car-line, but it should also .be understood that the device is equally applicable to elevated roads. Theplungertrod, in-this eXemplilication of my invention,eXten ds through thevestibule :flooring .of the carV C and is connected-,to a thrustpost by apair of links-1l. The lower end ofthe rod carries a,tappetfinger l0 that isvertically alined with theteeth of the starwheel p and a laterally extended shoe 10, which shoe ycarries an anti-friction roller adapted to engage the tread of the adjacent rail A when the plunger is depressed by ,a manual operation, effected `either by an larm or foot movement. The

lplunger-rod shoe is normallyheld out of .engagementwithfthe railltread by a coiled spring 12 that connectsthe plunger-rodto a convenient point ofthe car-body, it being .understood that such structural features form no part of my invention except so far as they are generally combined to produce the desired result.

WVhen motion ris imparted .to At-he spur- `wheel impact of the appliedpower is'liable to 4cause slight overthrow of said spurwheel, whereby the succeeding` tooth may ybe positioned in advance of its predetermined setposition and to avoid such over- .;throw .the spindle 3 is lprovided with a polygonal faced locking shoe 13, one Aface which is engaged by a rub-plate 13',

whichrub-plate is forcedagainst said face `by alleaf-spring 1.4 that is suitably seated at its ends upon the bottom of the box.

:Hence should the spur-wheel be moved within Aapproximately its desired throw for accomplishing the result this locking-plate and shoe will serve tocenter and hold the wheel in its properposition.

With the carinfthe position and traveling in the direction as shown in Fig. l of the drawings, it is apparent that A'the operator, in orderto open the switch which is now closed, to the main line, ,merely depresses the plunger-rod, whereby its shoe portion 10 will engage the rail-tread,.thus limiting downward movement of the tappet rlinger l0 to anengaging position with relation to the exposed tooth 5 of the spur-wheel. Further travel of the car toward the switch point vwill cause the spur-wheel to be `par- ,tiallyV rotated a distance equal to the disytance between two of` its teetlnwhereby the iuted cam-wheel will impart motion to the switch-lever in one direction, the swing causing said switch member B to open and thus clear the main track. It follows that the switch is left open after the car has traveled thereover and should it be desired to sidetrack the succeeding car of the mainline the operator depresses the tappet, whereby the switch-actuating mechanism is put int-o motion to close the switch, due to the Aalternate arrangement of the fiuted camewheel surface. e

It is evident from the foregoing that when a car is traveling in a reverse .direction from that indicated by the arrow in Fig. l, the switch, if closed, can be sprung openv by the wheel flange, there being suliicient elasticity in the switch mechanism Vto permitr this movement. It is also obvious thatl may employ either visible ,or audible signals in connection witlrthe switch, whereby itspositionis made apparent tothe operator such devices beingmore particularly employed 1n connect-ion with steam railways.

Furthermore it should be understood that i whilel have shown and described the casing of the switch members as being outside of one of the track-rails, `the same may be lplaced between said rails in some instances without departing from the spirit of my invention, or ininstances where the device is usedin connection with. elevated tracks such incasement ofthe mechanism may be dispensed with.

The advantagesotl `a switch mechanism embodying the features of my invention are obvious, vdue to the factthat the rolling stock neednot be brought to a standstill to throw vthe switch, the same being quickly effected by the motorman or engineer ywithout changing his Yworking position.

5I claim:

l. In a railway system embodying a'main track, a side track, a switch connectionbetween saidtracks, and-a carg-the combina- :tion of a spindle .disposed transversely of one of the main track-rails, a `spur-wheel mounted thereon having teeth, one of which is arranged to vnormally projectabove `the luted cam-wheel carried by said spindle, a

'lever having a spanner in engagement withv the fluted track of said.cam-wheekmeans Arail base in juxtaposition to ,its tread, a

mil base in juxtaposition to its tread, a I tioned for engagement with the exposed flutecl cum-wheel carried by said spindle, a spur-Wheel tooth. lever having :t Spanner in engagement with In testimony that I eluixn the foregoing the tinted truek of said earn-wheel, Ine-uns I have hereunto set my hund at VVztloeno, in

5 Connecting the opposite end of the lever und the eounty of Forest und Stute of W'iseon 15 switch, a depressible tuppet mounted upon sin7 in the presence of two Witnesses.

the ear adapted to aline with the exposed JACOB A. BRADLEY. tooth of said spur-wheel, and a shoe carried W'itnesses: by the tappet engageable with the ruil tread O. S. TENLEY,

10 whereby said tuppet is horizontally posi- M. O. Bonini.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

